


In the eye of the beholder

by larchwood



Category: Cut & Run - Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux, Sidewinder Series - Abigail Roux
Genre: College life is hard man, Hagan can never know, M/M, Money be tight, Nick as an art model, Originally Posted on Tumblr, author is a pissy bitch, screw tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-21 15:16:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17046068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/larchwood/pseuds/larchwood
Summary: AU Prompt - A million years ago I posed nude for an art class because my power was about to shut off and I needed the money but now I’m a respectable electrician so imagine my surprise when I came over to your house for a consultation and found an ass naked oil painting of myself hanging up on your wall AU





	In the eye of the beholder

Nick felt the blood drain from his face as he looked at the gigantic photo on the wall of the apartment. “Holy Mother of …” he muttered before he could stop himself. No, no, no, no, no. There was no freakin way that their witness had an black and white photo of HIS BUTT on the wall. Well, his butt and part of his back - and the bottom half of the celtic cross that a blind mind would know was Nick’s ink.

Dimly he was aware of Mr. Iseley talking to Hagan, but it was all a blur to Nick - his eyes locked onto the photo, almost hyperventilating in his distress. He felt Hagan glance over at him in concern, but he kept the conversation going, God bless him. He tried to pull himself together enough to make it through the interview and get the hell out of there before either man recognized him in the artwork.

Fucking college fees. So, he had done some sketchy stuff to pay for school expenses. Not like he was a trust fund baby - and God knows his asshole father wouldn’t come up with the cash. Nick sniffed derisively. Not like there was anything to be ashamed of, right? Being an art model might not be important work like pre med, but it was important to the art department, right? Sure, it was really, REALLY weird at first, being naked in front of a group of people, but eventually he got used to it. Besides, he met some fun people to hang with. And bang with. There was this one guy….

Hagan discretely coughed. “Det. O’Flaherty, is there anything else you’d like to ask Mr. Iseley?” his not-so subtle jab that Nick had been basically MIA throughout the entire interview. Nick blushed and tried to think of anything to ask. He flipped through his notebook, trying to buy time and prayed for a solid effort that would stall the grilling he knew was coming from Hagan later.

“Was there anyone with you on the night in question, Mr. Iseley? Someone who we could talk to for further details?” It was a long shot, Nick knew, but a solid question. Iseley shook his head. “My roommate was out for most of the evening, but he came in about 9:00 p.m. He might be able tell you something.”

Nick almost groaned in relief. At least he hadn’t totally botched up this interview. “Any chance you know when your roommate will be available for an interview?” desperately wishing to get out of there as soon as possible. Iseley said, “He’s actually here now, napping. He’s a photojournalist and has been working nights on a story, but I can go get him if you want?”

Hagan replied, “If you wouldn’t mind, Mr. Iseley, we’d appreciate it. The sooner we nail down these details, the sooner your involvement in this whole case will be over.” Iseley excused himself and and walked down the hall to the back bedrooms in the apartment. Nick braced himself as Hagan immediately turned on him and hissed. “What the everlovin’ hell, man? Did you just have an out of body experience? Are you sick or something? Since when do you not say anything in an interview?” Nick blushed again, but pretty much tried to bluff his way through. “Pffft - I don’t know what you’re talking about. There’s nothing wrong with me, I….”

At that point Iseley came back into the living room, followed by his roommate, who had a soft, sleepy look and a serious case of bedhead. The roommate started to vigorously rub his face in an attempt to wake up. Iseley made the introductions. “Detective Hagan and Detective O’Flaherty, this is my roommate, Kelly Abbott. Kelly, the police are here to get a witness statement about the disturbance last week. They need to ask you a few questions, okay?”

Abbott finally seemed to wake up and look at the detectives. His eyes skimmed over Hagan and settled on Nick. Recognition hit him almost simultaneously as it did Nick. “You!” Kelly practically shouted. Nick flinched at the volume, but after seeing the photo, he immediately recognized Abbot as the photo student he had gotten cozy with for a week back in college. “Um… yeah?”

Kelly was blatantly checking him out, from his head to this toes. Nick felt his own body reacting and really, really wanted to act on it - memories of that particular semester were very, very good. He tried desperately to maintain his professional decorum, practically repeating to himself, “no hitting on witnesses, no hitting on witnesses, no…. “ Hagan and Iseley, meanwhile were just looking back and forth from Kelly and Nick like they were pet monkeys in a zoo, ready for the next trick. 

Nick finally cleared his throat, but his voice was still hoarse with embarrassment. “Mr. Abbott, can you tell us anything more about the night in question?” Kelly looked at him, confused - as if crime was meaningless when your long loss muse came back into your life. “Not really. Sam” gesturing to Iseley, “was here when I got back to the apartment that night. Maybe around 9 or so? He was skyping with his girlfriend when I got in.”

Nick hadn’t realized he was holding his breath, but he found himself breathing a sigh of relief. Hopefully subtly. It shouldn’t matter to him if his witness and his roommate were actually boyfriends and not roommates, but try telling that to his cock. He didn’t care if Kelly was involved with someone or not, right? Just another witness in another case. He figured he was going to hell anyway for lusting after a witness and having Hagan see his butt. There were just some lines that partners didn’t need to cross.

Hagan decided to have mercy on him and bring the interview to a close. “Ok, Mr. Iseley. Mr. Abbott. I think we have all the info we need at the moment. Hopefully we won’t need to bother you again. Thank you for your time.” He turned to leave. Nick, on the other hand, was having a harder time getting his feet to move, but almost sick with the conflicting emotions in him. He desperately wanted Kelly’s number, and the chance to see him again. But he also needed to get Hagan out of the apartment before he or Iseley made the connection between him and the photo. He’d NEVER live it down.

Kelly had been staring hard at Nick since he walked in the room. Maybe as a photographer trained to notice facial expressions he seemed to realize Nick’s reluctance to leave, juxtaposed with his ‘omg-I-need-to-escape’ face. He blurted out, “What if we think of anything else? Is there someway to contact you?” He looked up almost coyly at Nick as he said it. Nick extracted his wallet and found one of his business cards, then scribbled his cell phone number on the back before handing it to him. “Sure, Mr. Abbott. Contact me anytime if you think of anything else.”

Kelly took the card and grinned at him, his eyes flashing with amusement. Nick gave a little almost shy half-smile in return before turning to follow Hagan out of the apartment. The last thing Iseley and Kelly heard was the muffled sound through the door of Hagan asking, “Again, what the hell, man?” Iseley turned to Kelly and practically said the same thing.

Kelly just smirked and immediately reached for his phone to save the number.


End file.
